Kristian Brevik
kristian.a.brevik@gmail.com • 360.301.6424 • www.kristianbrevik.com
Summary
I work to bring together artistic practice, ecology+evolutionary science, and the environmental humanities into collaborative research and art exploring the ways the lives of humans and other beings are entangled. In practice, I research relationships between humans and insects using genetics and computational biology, teach science, art and the humanities in academic and community classes, write on the theory and practice of building kinship with other species, and create artwork in the form of large interactive installations, collaborative performance, and short zines on relationships between humans and others in the community of life.
Education
2020 Ph.D. Department of Plant and Soil Science, Insect Agroecology and Evolution Lab. University of Vermont.
Dissertation: Rapid evolution in agroecosystems: transposable elements and epigenetics in the colorado potato beetle
2010 B.A. Evolutionary Biology, Ecology, and Sculpture. Hampshire College.
Thesis: Change and Use, Bones and Growth
Professional Experience
Lecturer, University of Vermont 2021-present
courses in environmental statistics, studies, and humanities
Lecturer, Champlain College 2022-present
courses in science literacy, ecological video game analysis
Professional Artist, Whalefall Light and Sculpture 2012-present
artmaking, public outreach, community events
managing social media, creation of zines
Insect Agroecology and Evolution Lab Research Assistant Sept. 2017 - June 2019
Studying the ecology of and evolution of insects, developing and executing genomic and bioinformatic analysis of Colorado Potato Beetle and other arthropod genomes.
Illumination Collective Sept 2018-ongoing
Group of 10 local artists, work together on community art events
Agroecology and Entomology Teaching Assistant Sept 2014-May 2017
Developing and running entomology laboratory sections, including collecting and identifying insects, grading, working with students
Pollination Research Assistant Summer 2013 and Spring 2014
working with Dr. Lynn Adler at the University of Massachusetts
collecting nectar and pollen from flowers, involved both fieldwork and lab work
Teaching
University of Vermont
Environmental Statistics (NR140)
Introduction to Environmental Studies (ENVS001)
Environmental Literature, Arts, and Media (ENVS165)
Kincentric Ecology (ENVS195)
Entomology and Pest Management (TA + lab sections)
A Bug’s Life
Champlain College
Making Meaning Through Science
Digital Methods: Decolonizing Video Games: Multispecies Ethics, Colonialism, and Climate Change in Video Games
Generator VT
Workshops: Sculptural Lantern-making, Lasercutter Stampmaking
River Clyde Pageant, PEI, Canada
Sculptural Lantern-making + Multispecies Artmaking Workshops
Publications and Research
In prep) The entangled wellbeing of whales and humans in the North Atlantic. Brevik, K. Adams, A., Aristizábal, N., Barbieri, L., Bliss, Sam., Dube, B., Roman, J., Hammond Wagner, C., Morgan, C., Nicholson, C., Schwartz, A
In prep) Nature and the Rest of Nature. Morse, J. Barbieri, L., Brevik, K., Morgan, C. Ament, J. (2021)
In prep) Brevik, K., Language and kin-making with insects.
Brevik, K., Bueno, E.M, McKay, S., Schoville, S.D. and Chen, Y.H. Insecticide exposure affects intergenerational patterns of DNA methylation in the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, Evolutionary Applications (2020)
Brevik, K., Schoville, S.D., Muszewska, A., Pélissié, B., Cohen, Z., Izzo, V., Chen, Y.H. Transposable elements differ between geographic populations of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata
Cohen, Z; Brevik, K; Chen, Y.H.; Hawthorne, D.J; Weibel, B; Schoville, S.D. Elevated rates of positive selection drive the evolution of pestiferousness in the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata, Say)" Molecular Ecology (2020)
Brevik, K., Adams, J., Dube, B., Barbieri, L. Haage, G.Y., Wellbeing in the more-than-human world. chapter in: Sustainable Wellbeing Futures: A Research and Action Agenda for Ecological Economics, eds. Costanza, R., Erikson, J., Farley, F., and Kubiszewski, I. (2019).
Brevik, K., Barbieri, L. There is no magic wall. Minding Nature (Spring 2019)
Brevik, K., Schoville, S. D., Mota-Sanchez, D. & Chen, Y. H. Pesticide durability and the evolution of resistance: A novel application of survival analysis. Pest Manag. Sci. (2018). doi:10.1002/ps.4899
Brevik, K., Lindström, L., McKay, S. D. & Chen, Y. H. Transgenerational effects of insecticides — implications for rapid pest evolution in agroecosystems. Curr. Opin. Insect Sci. 26, 34–40 (2018).
Schoville, S. D. et al. including Brevik K. (2018)A model species for agricultural pest genomics: the genome of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Sci. Rep. 8, 1931 (2018).
Chen Y.H., Gols R., Stratton C. A., Brevik K. and Benrey, B. (2015), Complex tritrophic interactions in response to crop domestication: predictions from the wild. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 157: 40–59.
Conferences and Presentations
Wellbeing across more-than-human worlds,
University of Geneva, Switzerland, May 4th, 2023
PrattMWP - Guest Lectures, Science and Society, Spring 2021, 2022, 2023
University of Michigan, Guest Lecture, Multimodal Composition: Small Wonders, Fall 2022
Beyond the Magic Wall (panel), Canadian Society for Ecological Economics, 2021
University of Connecticut Avery Point, April 17th, 2019- “Art, Science & Conservation: Saving the World’s Great Whales and Other Marine Mammals” Invited Talk + Discussion with myself and Dr. Andrea Bogomolni (WHOI)
International Association of Landscape Ecology, April 11th, 2019 – “Disentangling Conservation Behavior: Fighting Right Whale Entanglement with Art” – co-presented with Alison Adams
North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium (NARWC) Meeting, Nov 2018: presented Entangled: Ghost Whales and connected with much of the North Atlantic Right Whale research and conservation community
Feverish World Symposium, Oct 2018: Served on Art and Public Space Committee, designed and co-led building of tents, presented ‘There is no Magic Wall’ paper and ‘the dead provide a home for us living’ illuminated TentWork
Canadian Society for Ecological Economics, 2017
Data for Black Lives, 2017
Entomological Society of America 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017: Presented on genomics research
Residencies and Workshops
Aesthetic perspectives on environmental problems: Evaluating the impact of environmental public art in the US, January 22-24, 2020 - The National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, University of Maryland
Art+Science Residency at NCEAS (National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis) – March 1st -31st 2020
Vermont Week at Vermont Studio Center – April 27th-May 4th 2020
JumpStart at Generator Makerspace - January to March 2019
Grants and Awards
Apis Fund for Pollinator Health, 2020 - $3,000, creation of illuminated sculptures of 8 bumblebee species in decline in Vermont
Vermont Arts Council Creation Grant, 2019 – $4,000, “Ghosts of Extinction Yet to Come: Vermont’s Endangered Birds
Connecticut Sea Grant, 2018 - $1,000, “Entangled: Illuminated Ghost Whales”
Burlington City Arts Highlight, 2018 - $8,000, as member of Illumination Collective
UVM REACH Grant, 2015 - $40,000, ‘How do insect pests rapidly evolve on the pesticide treadmill?”
Exhibitions and Events
Whales and other Lantern Art:
These exhibitions and events explore our relationships with other species (primarily whales and other aquatic species), specifically the environmental impacts of our activities on these species. These pieces all involve illuminated lantern sculptures, many of which are interactive, inviting community participation.
Honor: People and Salmon March 6th - April 15th, 2023
Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound
Whales Attending a Funeral April-July 2021
Southampton Arts Center, Southampton, NY
As part of eARTh - Artists as Activists
Ghosts of the Salish Sea December-April 2021
Tacoma Ocean Fest/Foss Waterway Seaport, Tacoma, WA
also “Lantern Paddle for Species”
Orcas and Salmon Spring 2020 and 2021
Filson, Seattle, WA and Vancouver, CA
Entangled: Ghost Whales* April 2019 - January 2020
New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA
Audubon Society of Rhode Island Nature Center and Aquarium, Bristol, RI
Giant Whale Lantern December 31, 2019
Main Street Landing, Burlington, VT
Cyber-zoo Lantern Installation December 31, 2019
Main Street Landing, Burlington, VT
Whales, Ships, and Sky September 5-26, 2019
Northwind Arts Center, Port Townsend, WA
River Clyde Pageant (Ghost Whales on Kayaks) July-August 2019
New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Deep Blue (7 whales and 2 ships) April-May 2019
Studio Place Arts, Barre, VT
Crosscurrents: A Connecticut Sea Grant Art Exhibition January 24-April 7, 2018
Alexey von Schlippe Gallery, Groton, CT
Lake Trout and Ship Hats* December 31, 2018
ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Burlington, VT
Entangled: Ghost Whales at NARWC* November 7-9, 2018
New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA
Whales in the Forest* September 22, 2018
Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT
Whale Lanterns* September 7-9, 2018
Burlington, VT, as part of Art Hop 2018
Ecological and Conservation Art:
These works contemplate ecology, evolution, deep geological time, and human impacts on the broader environment and the way we share and co-evolve with other species, including domestic mammals.
sixth time’s the charm 2019
As part of ‘Art Show #16”, RL Photo, Burlington, VT
the dead provide a home for us living* January 22-March 9, 2018
Studio Place Arts, Barre, VT
Feverish World TentWorks October 20-22, 2018
Burlington, VT, designed and co-led installation development and implementation
Fossil Bed: the dead provide a home for us living* October 20-22, 2018
Burlington, VT, As part of Feverish World Symposium
Tar Sands Bonsai* March 2018
As part of ‘Art Show #5”, RL Photo, Burlington, VT
Bones and Growth, Change and Use April-May 2010
Hampshire College Gallery, Amherst, Massachusetts, Thesis show
Insect Art:
These works share the theme of insects and other related arthropods, thinking about our shared evolutionary roots, the way we share our houses and immediate environment with many of these small relatives, and how the challenges of size and evolutionary distance can make relationship-building with insects difficult. This work includes explorations of interspecies collaborations - ‘paperwasp’ includes a wasp sculpture made from the paper of wasps’ nests.
Kinship 1, 2, and 3 December 7, 2018 – January 19, 2019
S.P.A.C.E Gallery, Burlington, VT
Paper Arthropods March 2018
Studio Place Arts, Barre, VT
Insectopia June 20th to August 12th, 2014
Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Show, St. Johnsbury, VT
ECLOSION November 2013
Art.Science.Gallery, Austin, TX
